The 911 For 1st Responders In Need On Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — About four years ago, Det. Robert Garland was working in narcotics for the New York Police Department, when the daughter of one of his close friends was born with a rare illness.

She was born only two days apart from his daughter but due to the illness, it was difficult for the two friends to share milestones, but he shared enough that Garland knew that he had started to get into serious financial hardship. So, he asked if he could start a Go Fund Me page to help out.

“He turns to me and he says, ‘No, I don't want to do that. I don't want my daughter's name being used for someone else's gain,’” said Garland, who lives in Nassau County.

He asked what his friend meant.

His friend told him that organizations like Go Fund Me do not verify fundraisers and there have been issues with people duplicating them, said Garland, adding that he then had a friend run a data poll of the crowdfunding industry. In a sample of 50,000 fundraising campaigns, using keywords like law enforcement, police, firefighter, and military, they noticed that three % were duplicated.

“Now it doesn't mean that it's fraud, but it creates confusion,” he said, adding that donors can become unsure who to give the money to. “So it's a major issue.”

Garland got a team together all from first responder backgrounds, including himself, the chief financial officer, a CPA who works with hundreds of first responders in his firm in Nassau County, and the chief operating officer who’s a military spouse down in North Carolina.

“We have a fantastic team and three of us really put our heads together all the time to make sure that we're bringing up from the user experience and a trusted service,” Garland said.

And they settled on creating Fund the First, a verified platform that supports first responders, including police, fire, military, emergency medical services, and other health care workers.

“That is what happens with our team — we make sure that the money raised only goes to the intended source,” he said.

Even someone without any one of those backgrounds, can go to Fund the First and set up a fundraiser and the recipients will be verified.

The way it works is that when a fundraiser is created, every 30 days, the beneficiary, or the organizer is allowed to request a payout, and when they do, they will be putting in their address, their name, and other information, Garland said.

Then the team once again verifies to be sure that the beneficiary is the only one receiving that payout, and after that, “we cut them a check because that's the safest way of doing anything,” he added.

Ninety-two percent of the funds go to each fundraiser’s beneficiary, while the remaining eight percent is used to pay for credit card processing fees and the partnership with ID.me, which makes the verifications possible.

“So, it’s a pretty unique system that we have here,” Garland said.

In the 16 months that the platform is up-and-running, it has raised over $2 million in 260 fundraisers across the U.S. The average amount of funds raised is about $10,000. The fund has been featured on Fox and Friends, CNBC, NBC, MSNBC, as well as other outlets as they have been trying to get the word out there, Garland said.

“We've been there getting our name out there across the country to let people know that we exist and we are trusted,” he said. “And, if you really need to do a fundraiser, come to us, because you know what? Your donors are going to understand that money is going to you.”

Last week, the platform made the news helping out Suffolk County Police Officer Timothy Thrane, who was seriously injured by an alleged drunk driver on Nov. 3.

Garland described the situation as “another sad case” and while the platform sees “a lot of tragedies,” money can be raised for a range of reasons from good causes to illnesses, surgeries, deaths, catastrophic losses, toy drives, and to advance business ventures.

In a day, over $100,000 was raised.

“It’s pretty incredible to see that type of support system to come together and help out Tim's family,” Garland said.

Altogether over $128,000 has since been raised in a fundraiser by Law Enforcement Officers Weekend to help Thrane’s family pay for uncovered expenses like travel, food, and childcare.

LE Weekend also supports law enforcement families, but specifically where there is either a line-of-duty death or a serious injury is involved. It arranges events, like getaways and short trips, as well as activities for them to participate in “with their blood and blue families” of law enforcement officers from near and far, according to its website.

NYPD Officer Austin Glickman, who started LE Weekend in 2017, said the fundraiser post for Thrane went viral pretty quickly with 700 shares and about 100,000 views. He has since been asked why the amount raised got so high, so quickly, in which he has chalked up to multiple reasons.

“There's a huge support for law enforcement on Long Island and especially out of Suffolk,” said Glickman, of Long Beach, adding that “a lot of people felt an instant connection because they either lived close by or in the area.

Secondly, Thrane’s crash was in close proximity to that of the fatal one that NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos died from after being struck by an alleged drunk driver back in April.

The crashes struck a chord with supporters.

“The community has really rallied behind Tim and his family,” Glickman said. “Money only goes so far, but it's going to be a huge help to the family.”

Glickman first dreamed of LE Weekend while he was still in the academy in 2014. It was a time of discord just after two officers had been killed in Brooklyn, and Michael Brown had been shot in Ferguson, Missouri.

He was looking for an organization that officers could take part in to de-stress.

There was none.

Three years later, Glickman formed LE Weekend and held the first weekend in Lake George, and more recently, they have branched out to Miami, FL. VIPs like the families of injured or fallen officers are treated to the occasion while others pay their own way.

“It's been a great time and we have a great board,” he said. “Nobody takes a paycheck. We're all complete 100% volunteers. We do it because unfortunately no one else really does and that's where we come in.”